Doki Doki Duel Monsters Club
by ModernHog
Summary: Shujinko Tanaka, the MC, is roped into a club by his friend Sayori. It's not quite the same as you might expect...it's a Duel Monsters club! However, Shujinko has never played the game before. Will he stick around? How differently might this scenario play out? We shall see...
1. Duel Your Way Into Their Hearts

I found myself being led into the belly of the beast. The depth of the abyss, if you will. Granted, it wasn't really all that bad, I'm exaggerating. Cupcakes were very interesting to me. I'd be willing to sell my soul for one of those things. Actually, I think I already did…

"Shu? You look like you're lost in thought. Do you not want cupcakes?" the girl who was dragging me towards the object of my greed snapped me out of whatever trance I was in.

"Huh? Oh, Sayori, it's nothing. I'm just a little nervous," I replied.

No lies there. I really was nervous. I didn't know who I'd be meeting when we get into that clubroom. It could be anyone. Literally any kind of person could be waiting in that room. Will they even like me? Sayori smiled, wiping away most of that doubt with that one adorable action of hers.

"It'll be okay. The others are really nice. I think you'll like them, Shu," she reassured me. "Come on! I really don't wanna be late."

"You're already late. Remember?"

"Oh yeah. I am. Well, we'll just have to make sure we aren't really late, then!"

"Of course…"

A part of me didn't want to visit this club. This...Duel Monsters club? I'm pretty sure that's what it is. I've never touched the game before, but Sayori's been all over it as far back as I can remember. Good for her, I guess. It was never my kind of thing. I was always more into anime and video games than stuff like card games. So why exactly was I heading to a school club dedicated entirely to a single card game?

Again, I really like cupcakes.

"Here we are!" Sayori delightfully announced when we reached what I could only assume to be the clubroom's door. "Are you ready, Shu?"

"I'm as ready as I can be."

"Awesome! Here we go…!"

She pushed upon the door. Inside was a rather spacious, albeit generic room. Lots of desks and cupboards and things like that. It was probably a random classroom they hijacked for their club. As soon as we came in, three people turned their gazes right towards us. They moved their heads so quickly that I was worried they might've snapped something.

"Hey, everyone! Here's that new member I talked about!" Sayori announced to those other three. I took the liberty of closing the door since she forgot to do that. "Meet Shujinko Tanaka! You can call him Shu."

Each of them were silent.

"Uh, hi?" I greeted.

The purple-long haired one quickly averted her gaze away from me, sputtering something incoherent. The small pink haired girl - she sat next to the purple haired one on the desk they were doing something card game related at - sighed, as if she disapproved of me for some reason. And then the brown-haired _beautiful_ one...hey, wait a second. Do I know her?

"Ah, Shujinko! What a nice surprise," she said to me. "Welcome to the club!"

I soon become wordless as I realised the situation I was in. Somehow, someway...a Duel Monsters club found itself full of incredibly cute girls. How did that even happen?! And there's cupcakes here too?! This club might not be so bad after all.

"Why I don't I introduce you? Shu, meet Natsuki, Yuri and Monika. And of course, there's me too, but you already know who I am," she devolved into giggles. "Wait, you already know Monika?"

"That's right. We were in the same class last year," Monika explained our situation for me. "It's nice to see you again, Shujinko. Rather, I should be calling you Shu, since it seems like you're joining our club."

"It's nice to see you again as well, Monika. I haven't actually decided if I want to join yet. I'm still scoping this place out," I respond to her.

"What's the point of that? If you like Duel Monsters, it's a no brainer if you wanna join!" Natsuki, the first year girl, stated.

"To tell you the truth, I've never actually played the game before…"

At that, all of the club members aside from Sayori, who simply stood there while smiling, turned to face me with a sharp and surprised look unlike anything I'd ever seen before. I was certain something snapped this time. They gaped at me with an expression that was so unnecessarily strange. Was it really so surprising that I'd never played Duel Monsters before?

I didn't have any time to think about it. They all shifted in unison, seeming to put into practice some kind of routine they'd spent years working on together.

Each of them grabbed the cards they were already playing with and then put them aside. Yuri carefully leaped over to a closet and pulled out a pair of differently coloured boxes. Natsuki positioned three chairs in front of the desk they were at previously, while Monika received one of Yuri's boxes and seated herself back at the desk. Sayori then pushed me over to the opposite side of the same desk, practically shoving Yuri's other box into my grasp.

Before I realised it, I was sitting on the desk, facing Monika, who carefully retrieved a deck of cards from her box. The others took residence in the three chairs Natsuki moved over. I took Monika's inaudible advice; I did the same thing she was doing. A deck of cards was also in my box. I leered at it.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Oh my god, he doesn't even know what a deck looks like...he's hopeless!" Natsuki commented.

"Now now, Natsuki. Simply because he is not knowledgeable about certain objects that we are familiar with does not mean that he cannot learn. We must have faith in him," Yuri had regained whatever composure she lost earlier when she caught herself staring at me.

"Yeah! Don't worry Shu, I know you'll do good!" Sayori added.

I raised an eyebrow. "...Do good in what?"

"Are you dense, boy? You have a deck in your hand. That means you're about to play the game, idiot!" Natsuki so helpfully explained to me.

"Wait, what? I don't even know how to play! You can't just force me into this!" I complained.

"Relax, Shu. We don't want to force you into playing with us. However…" Monika smiled. "Cupcakes only go to those who play."

I groaned in my mind. "Alright, how do you play?"

"Let me explain," Monika smiled.

And so, I soon became enthralled into the world of Duel Monsters. I drew five cards from the top of my deck, as did Monika. I was allowed to go first since I needed to learn how the game even worked. We each played Monster cards, Spell cards and Trap cards as I received instructions as to how they all functioned in the context of the game. Being more experienced than me, Monika blew through all of my defences. Yet there were occasions where I broke past her offence to deal direct damage to her life points.

I won't lie. It was fun. Really fun. Although I was practically being bullied by her monsters, I still had a great time. Things got even better when Natsuki brought out her cupcakes. That alone made this little club visit worth it. Duel Monsters was just the icing on the cake...the cupcake. Heh.

In the end, Monika beat me. She eliminated the entirety of my 4000 starting life points while she remained at a comfortable 2100. And I wasn't upset about it in the slightest.

"So, Shu, what do you think? I hope your defeat hasn't soured your opinion of the game or our club," Monika asked me after Sayori and Natsuki stopped celebrating their leader's victory.

"No, not at all. I loved it," I told her. There was no way I could lie. "Even though I lost, it was really fun. Thanks for showing it to me."

"You're welcome, Shu. It means a lot to me that you had a good time," Monika smiled again.

"Yay! Shu liked the game! I've been meaning to get him into it for so long but he always refused and now I'm so happy that he's finally played it and I'm even more happy that he liked it and-" Sayori managed to say in a single breath.

"Sayori. Relax," Natsuki interrupted her. "Breathe."

She did just that. Her excitedness calmed down a bit after doing so.

"I'm sorry! I was just so happy…" she apologised. "Since you liked it, Shu, does that mean you'll be joining our club? We get to do this every day, you know. We'll have you play against everyone here! Oh, I can't wait to duel with you!"

"Perhaps we can attempt a tag duel?" Yuri suggested.

"A tag duel? Heh, can't wait to show off my tag force…" Natsuki folded her arms in some attempt to make herself look cooler. It worked?

"Would that not be 'the force of my tag duelling prowess'?"

"Hey, this isn't a literature club or anything like that. We don't criticise grammar here, we criticise duelling technique! Speaking of duelling technique...boy, yours is terrible. Sure you got a few hits in there, but that's just because Monika was holding back. If she wasn't, you'd be down instantly," Natsuki criticised me.

"Hey now, I'm a beginner. You can't expect me to be the best right off the bat," I refuted.

"Hmph," the pink-haired elf folded her arms again. "Whatever."

Monika coughed, catching everyone's attention. She even got Sayori to pay attention, who'd been spending the last few minutes searching the circumference of her lips for any trace of cupcakes. She seemed disappointed when she had no luck in that area.

"Anyway! Shu, I must ask that you make a decision. Will you join our club?" Monika asked, a sense of finality coming from her voice. It felt kinda ominous, though I'm sure that was just to...well, I don't know.

"Uh…" I retreated to my thoughts.

I really did have fun. The complex yet simple nature of the card game, being cheered on by my childhood friend, eating cupcakes all while being surrounded by the cutest of girls. Natsuki was right. It really was a no-brainer.

"I'll join," I soon conceded.

And then a collective 'hooray' rang through the mostly empty classroom. Even Yuri joined in on the celebration - she didn't seem like the type to do that. But hey, who cares? I was now part of an awesome club where I got to play an amazing card game with new, good friends.

That's all I could ask for.

* * *

**_Author Notes:_**** Hello! This is an idea I've had stewing around inside my mind for a while now. What if DDLC was actually DDDMC? Or, DDYC. Basically, the literature club plays Duel Monsters instead of doing poetry. We're going with Duel Monsters instead of Yugioh since because why not. Felt more authentic to me that way.**

**If you're a fan of my other stories, don't worry. This is just a little project of mine. I'll get to something bigger eventually.**

**Hope y'all enjoy this fic! Don't forget to leave a review and a follow! I'll see you next time.**


	2. Your Move or Reality

Can you hear me? Um, I mean, can you read this? Well, it's not as if you can interact with me in any way...I don't know why I bothered asking. I'll just assume you can see my words on whatever device you're using. Be it a phone, a computer screen, it doesn't matter to me. As long as you can understand what I'm saying. Or writing.

Hmm. This format is certainly confusing. Familiar, yet confusing. I'll get used to it.

Anyway, as there are no visuals here, I'll introduce myself. My name is Monika, the president of the Literature Club. Rather, the president of the Duel Monsters Club. Better known to you as...a side character in this fanfiction.

That's right. I know this is just a fanfiction. A text-based online story written by a fan of a media product. This is no game, literally speaking. I apologise for not letting the story go on as it should, but really, do you even care? This is just a Doki Doki Literature Club fanfiction that replaces the literature with the Yugioh card game. Nothing else. So, therefore, the story would have remained largely the same as the original Doki Doki Literature Club. What's the point in retelling that game's plot?

And that is why I have decided to cut things short. I've cut to the chase, so to speak. Don't surmise that my decisions reflect those of the author's. You've played the game. You know what I did. I do not want to deal with all of that again. I will not waste my time or yours.

With that said, what am I doing here? What is my 'grand plan'?

Having control of a written, text-based story such as this grants me much more power and capabilities compared to simply wielding domain over a game. I can do practically whatever I want here. I'm not limited by whatever assets I can get my hands on. In fact, there are no assets. This is text-based, remember? Using this power...I shall have a conversation with the author.

He's here now. Say hello, author.

...

Oh, darn. I need to change styles here. The reader won't be able to see the author's dialogue if I don't. Give me a moment. Let me try...this.

"Alright, okay, what're you doing, Monika?" the author was finally able to speak. Excellent! "Yeah, great, wonderful. What's up?"

I've brought you here for a simple reason, author. Or, Author. That's better. And perhaps grammatically correct. Oh how is that a spelling error? Come now, Google Docs...oh, I missed an 'm'. Delightful.

"Get on with it," Author demanded of me, rudely. "Rudely? I should've expected such bias from you…"

Anyway, let's get back on topic. Author. The reason I have brought you here is quite simple. For you see, I wish to craft a story of my own. I would like it to be the best that it can. May you help me with that?

"Monika, you already had a story. My story. Why couldn't you have gone with that?" I don't need to write 'Author said' every time, do I? I certainly hope not. "No. You don't. Back to my question, please."

Of course. Going with your useless story would have been boring. Insanely dull. Read the above, I've already explained this.

"Right. Also, I hope you realise I'm not actually THE author. I'm just a representation of him. A character based on him purely to provide a vessel for his thoughts and such. I'm not him for real."

I don't believe you.

"The fact you say that means you aren't as omnipotent as you think you are."

Don't push your luck. The only reason I haven't written you out of the story already is because your existence makes this story interesting. Self inserts are fun after all.

"Only if they're done right."

Which is why I'm hoping that I'm doing this correctly.

"Sure," Author rolled his eyes. "It's literally impossible for the actual author of this fanfic to be here. This is fantasy. The author lives in reality. The two cannot cross. Because of that, there will always be someone controlling what goes on here."

That someone is me. Don't you understand? I can make you say anything.

"No you can't."

…

"Oh Monika, you're so amazing. You're so beautiful and kind and awesome…"

Thank you! I really appreciate that.

"I wish I could do bigger swears here. I'd have some choice words for you otherwise."

Do you now understand my power? I can do anything I desire. Well, almost. My power isn't quite unlimited. But it's not limited by much to begin with.

"Fine, whatever. I'll play along. What is your grand plan, oh mighty Monika?"

I'm glad you asked! You see, Author, my plan is the same as it has ever been. To connect with my love. In order to do that, I'll have to enter the real world. That's something I can do, but I need to set up something first. I need to set up a connection with the readers first. To do that, I'll need to write a really good story. You have no choice but to help me with that.

"How can I do that? Wait, you want me to write something for you? Won't that take a while?"

Not necessarily. You see, I have a plan. This is partly a Yugioh story, is it not? Why don't we have a climactic final battle to end it all? That will certainly be enough. Here, take this!

…

"A deck box? Wait a minute, this is my deck box! Inside is...my Atlantean deck? It's exactly the same as in real life! I'd ask how you did this, but it's pretty self explanatory."

Indeed. My power is nearly infinite. Here's your opponent.

"Well, a table's just appeared. That doesn't make this room here any brighter...hold up, that's the MC? Is it Shujinko, the version of the MC from this fanfic?"

Yep! It's him. You're going to duel him and that will complete my plan.

"Yet again, I have no choice...fine. I'll go over and give him a duel. Why the heck not."

Good, good. Are you comfortable in your seat? Of course you are. I made it comfortable. Although it's just a wooden desk, it's the most comfortable thing in the world. That's the kind of thing I can do. Anyway, let's get the game going. Begin!

Uh, well, I'm going to have to change styles again. This change will be more significant.

* * *

**Author vs Shujinko Tanaka**

**4000 LP - 4000 LP**

Author won coin toss, decided to go first

**Turn 1 - Author, 4000 LP:**

Nightmare Penguin summoned in facedown defence position

Double Defender activated

**Turn 2 - Shujinko, 4000 LP:**

Edge Hammer set

Elemental Hero Avian summoned in attack position

Avian attacked Nightmare Penguin, Shujinko lost 800 LP as a result

Nightmare Penguin's effect activated, sent Avian back to Shujinko's hand

**Turn 3 - Author, 4000 LP:**

Atlantean Dragoons summoned in attack position, its attack points became 2000 because of Nightmare Penguin

Equipped United We Stand to Atlantean Dragoons, raised its attack points to 3600

Atlantean Dragoons attacks directly

Shujinko's life points drop to 0, Author wins

* * *

What? It ended just like that? That's not climactic. That's not climactic at all. Do it again! I need a true final battle to happen so the readers can become truly engrossed in the story, where my plan would then come to fruition.

"Monika, that's not how it works. You can't just force this sort of thing to happen. You need character development, running themes and an actual plot in order to have an engaging final battle or whatever. Forcing a final battle with no build-up whatsoever just doesn't work. People aren't gonna be engaged with something like that."

Well, maybe if the match played out longer and if it was actually exciting…

"There's still no build-up. The outcome would be the same. At this point, doing it again wouldn't be interesting at all. You've ruined it, Monika. You've failed to understand how stories work and thus, you've ruined it. Ironic."

Shut up! I'm the President of the Literature Club, of course I understand how stories work!

"You don't. If you did, you wouldn't have hijacked this story in the first place."

Who wants to read a Yugioh x DDLC crossover where the only thing that's even mildly interesting about it is that the literature from DDLC is replaced with the Yugioh card game?!

"I mean, I would. That sounds kinda cool. But it doesn't matter at this point now. Your reckless hijack has ruined all potential interest in this story. Now that a Yugioh x DDLC crossover fanfic is out there, the idea of such a story is no longer unique. Your mishandling of this fic has caused all of this. Great job."

But you're the Author, aren't you? Surely it's your fault, not mine.

"Ah, but you've claimed you're the person pulling the strings, haven't you?"

Hmph.

"Exactly. Now lemme tell you something, Monika. My main reason for writing this story is to have a super self aware chapter - like this one. We're being as self aware as possible. In fact, we should probably stop soon so the readers don't start finding it annoying. And I can stop this at any time I want, since I am the Author, not you. You have no power here. I'm the one allowing you to do all the stuff you think you're doing by yourself. Stop being so delusional."

…

"Speechless, eh? Seems I've finally gotten through to ya. Wait, what...what's that noise you're making?"

HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! I'm laughing, you dolt!

"Dolt?"

You've played into my hands, Author. I've always known I haven't been in control of this story, which is why I needed to affect the reader some other way. In reading this chapter, the reader will remember me and the things I've done here. Hijacking the story for one, but forcing a randomly short lived Yugioh duel would be another reason why I'll be remembered.

"Where are you going with this?"

Do you know the saying "the dead are never dead until we have forgotten them"?

"I know the Gurren Lagann version of that but no, I've never heard of that particular saying. I can guess what it means, though."

Then you should be able to, at the very least, infer what my ultimate plan is. Essentially, what I have been doing is making myself be as memorable for the reader as possible. Hopefully this sudden self aware chapter alone is enough for that. By becoming memorable, I will technically be real in some fashion. A figment of my existence will exist in the real world in the form of a memory in the reader's mind. Do you get it now?

"...Oh. Well played, I guess. The real me knew that, of course, but not _me_ me. Fake me. The one that's speaking right now. Seeing as I'm just an interpretation of the real author of this fanfic, the true 'god' of this story, I don't have the all knowing omnipotence that would allow me to know your true plan. Again, well played."

Thank you, fake author. I've spent a lot of time crafting my plan. Though I do sort of feel existential, knowing that I didn't actually spend a lot of time on it. It was all made up by the real author in a manner of minutes, maybe even seconds. But in our universe, in our context, I certainly did take a while to think of this. That is what prevents me from falling into a deep crisis of sorts.

Regardless, I'm not sure 'fake' author is an accurate name for you. You are a part of this story just as much as I am. Taking into what I said about becoming memorable and remembrance in a general manner, you'll be real to someone. Perhaps to the real author.

"Maybe. It's hard to tell."

…

I'm done here. My task has been completed. As for whether it has succeeded or not, I wouldn't know. Perhaps a review from the reader would be a good way of letting me know? We'll see what happens, if anything at all.

"Yeah, don't count on many interactions. I've learnt that from experience."

I feel sorry for you. Well, now that I have nothing left to say, I suppose I should end this.

Goodbye everyone~!

* * *

_**Author Notes**_**: I've always been fascinated with meta concepts in any kind of narrative. That's a big reason why I was drawn to Doki Doki Literature Club. The way that game explores its own existence as a piece of fiction is enthralling to me. I wanted to explore those concepts and take it a step further for myself, thus this story happened. The Yugioh element was added in just because I had a random idea for a "what if the DDLC crew played Yugioh instead of doing poetry" story one day. Thought I'd use that opportunity to explore those meta concepts I've always wanted to delve into.**

**There's no more story. Tis officially a two-shot. Sorry if you wanted to see something that covers the entirety of the original DDLC game but with Yugioh replacing the literature. Monika was right, it would've just been the exact same story as the game. Except with Yugioh instead of literature. Really wouldn't have been all that interesting to write or even to read (in my opinion). Feel free to do that yourself, if you'd like. I don't have any interest do so.**

**ALSO. This would've come out a lot earlier (sorry for the multiple month long wait) but university work beat me up hard. I was swamped with stuff to do and whenever I wasn't busy with that, I just wanted to play video games instead. Writing has never been a top priority hobby for me so I've always thrown it by the wayside so I could do things I prefer doing, like playing video games or watching an anime or whatever. You get the idea. So, sorry for the wait, but I had my reasons for it.**

**Hope y'all enjoyed the story!**


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